Dave has a good article on the folly of Alan Greenspan and the pusher mentality of western society. Go read it.

It made me recall something that I've wanted to look at for a long time, that is what is my footprint on this planet.

When my marriage broke up two years ago I took the opportunity to divest myself of a lot of material good. I kept only what had meaning for me, primarily my book collection, computer, photographic materials and my cooking supplies. I no longer own a vehicle, other than a mountain bike, and I pretty much walk where I need to go. If I have to go further than my feet will take me I borrow a vehicle or if going to the coast I rent a fuel efficient car. I don't own my own home, and given that I'm single this is a good thing as I use fewer resources to keep me warm in the winter and less power to light my small apartment than I would with my own home. I'm not a materialist per se. I only replace clothes when they wear out, I couldn't care less about fashion and the need to wear designer labels, never have. I go the practical route and that's one of the things I love about where I live, no one else here seems to care very much either. When I do buy something I buy the best quality I can afford, I don't want to be replacing it in 3 years if something else that costs 50% more will last 10 years. To go the Walmart (cheap and often shoddy goods) route is bad economics, but as Dave pointed out it is the path this society tries to teach us. Overall I think my footprint is pretty small for a North American and that provides me with some comfort. More is not necessarily better. Given the state of our planet, it is suicidal.

The lure of materialism is very powerful. My ex wrote me the other day all excited because she finally got rid of our old truck that was costing her a fortune to keep running. A local Ford dealership had a zero down zero interest sale on and she bought a new car. For her this is a good thing, and I don't write this here to criticize he decision, as in her case I think she made the right one. No, what I want to comment on is how it made me feel. I wanted to run out and do the same thing (it's been a looooooong winter and we still have several feet of snow on the ground, so I'm feeling a little cooped up) and even went so far as to work out my finances and it was as I was doing that when the little white angel on my left shoulder reached over and whacked that damned devil on my right :-) and I thought -Why? Why am I doing this. Unlike my ex I don't need a car to get around. I work from home. It's 5 feet from my bed to my desk. almost everything I need I can buy in town (supporting local merchants) and that which I can't I can either learn to do without or I can borrow a car and drive down to Trail and get it. No, what it was was envy and that insidious desire for material goods that we have beat into us all day long.

So I've fought it off this time. That's an appropriate way of describing it because it is the enemy and it is an addiction. No promises for the future except I will always try and make my choices based on not only what's best for me, but also what's best for mother earth and those I share it with.

How's your footprint?